Kiwi Pacer Matt Henry Scripts History In Champions Trophy, Topples Shoaib Akhtar To Register Unique Milestone Against India

Champions Trophy 2025: It was Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya's knocks that guided Team India to 249/9 against New Zealand in their final group stage of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 on March 2 in Dubai. For the Kiwis, it was Matt Henry, who alone led the New Zealand bowling attack with his five-wicket haul in the first inning.

Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami all became victims of Henry's bowling attack at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

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Matt Henry's Unique Feat Against India in Champions Trophy 2025

The 33-year-old bagged five wickets and conceded just 42 runs in his eight-over spell. The Kiwi seamer also registered a huge milestone. He has now recorded the best bowling figure against the Men in Blue in the history of ICC Champions Trophy. Earlier, it was Pakistan's Naved-ul-Hasan (4/25) and Shoaib Akhtar (4/36) who held the record in the 2004 edition of the tournament. Zimbabwe's Douglas Hondo stands in fourth place on the chart with his 4/62 figures during the 2002 edition of the tournament in Colombo.

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Shreyas, Hardik Take India To 249/9 Against New Zealand

The Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gil gave the Men in Blue a disappointing start in the first inning. Virat Kohli, who was playing his 300th ODI match, also failed to shine with the bat in Dubai. Later, it was Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel's 98-run partnership that put the Men in Blue back on track in the match.

Following Shreyas and Axar's dismissals, Hardik Pandya took charge of the batting to propel India to 249/9 in their final group stage of the Champions Trophy 2025. Apart from Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke, Mitchell Santner, and Rachin Ravindra all scalped one wicket each in their respective spells. The Men in Blue need to restrict the 250-run target to stay unbeaten in the ongoing ICC tournament.

In the semi-final, Rohit Sharma-led team will take on either Australia or South Africa, it will be decided depending on the result of their ongoing match against New Zealand.